Hello,I have not posted here in years. I have a 9 year old healthy black Persian and a 6 year old calico Persian, Kira, who unfortunately has been just diagnosed as having chronic renal failure, cause unknown. Her BUN was 50 (normal 20-30) and Creatinine 3 (norm 1-2) She has been the most exuberant and congenial cat Ive ever had and now she is losing that a little at a time. . Currently I have Hills Prescription Diet k/d for her but she is not eating it very well. Initially she seemed to be OK with it, but that didn't last long. I am giving her daily antibiotics orally and also she is drinking extra water from a syringe orally. I have not yet started subq fluids. She has obviously lost weight in the past month, but since I began to give her extra fluids orally she has perked up a bit.Do any of you know of any recommended diet for a cat with renal disease that Kira is more likely to eat than the Hills k/d diet? She will not touch wet food by the way. I have tried it but she has always eaten dry. This coming May I have a long planned for trip to the Galapagos Islands in South America planned which will mean I will be gone for 17 days. A vet technician down the road from me generously offered to take care of my cats, including special care for Kira, in my home while I'm gone. But I'm still a bit hesitant to leave her alone that long. On the other hand I don't want to miss my trip either, not to mention the fact I will lose all my non-refundable airfare if I don't go. Suddenly having a special needs cat is a bit shocking but Kira has been exceptional and I want her to have a quality life as long as she is comfortable. Here is a picture of her: Thank you for any suggestions you may have.

Yes she is only 6, which makes this even more puzzling. How did she get this CRF I will never know. Thank you for the informative link and I'm very sorry for the loss of your Casey. CRF apparently is not uncommon in cats, but why is it so prevalent?? I don't think anyone knows.

Terry, I am so sorry to hear this about your Kira. What a beauty she is, by the way! :flower: A gorgeous girl, and at just six...so young to have this issue. :cry: I'm sure you will be doing a lot of research into this topic, lots of valauble information to be found on the internet.

I'm feeding the Medi-Cal prescription food to one of my cats.His kidney function readings were only slightly elevated though.. but this has brought them down to a normal range, and he seems to like it well enough..

I can sure understand your misgivings about your upcoming trip.. now that you are faced with this worry . :? However.. this seems like a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you have planned to such an exotic destination.As you have someone you trust to care for Kira and your other kitties.. and as the payment is not refundable, I feel you should go ahead with your plans.

My best wishes to your sweet girl, please let us know how she is doing, wont you? :flower:

Fran

Logged

Fran & the furries; Miranda, Basil and Zack~~~~~~~~~~~~~Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~ Plato

this is bad They should really do something about this CRF/PKD thing and make it curable already.Sorry I can't give you any advice on what to do, but I think I know what might have caused it, it could be that stupid tainted pet food they were selling last year, maybe she ate some of it and it and it messed her system up eventually leading to this.

I lost Sasha in December. She had kidney failure (and other problems later on). I wish I had words to comfort you, but I don't really have any. I have the same questions that you do--why? why? why? Sasha was the most wonderful gal. She was very loving all the way to the end.

It's a tough situation, for sure. Sasha also only ate dry food, and she got used to the K/D Hills. She was a snacker and took a few bites at a time. She was tiny, but lost weight as she was getting worse--down to about 5.6 lbs. She was good about drinking her water.

Thanks everyone for your kind and helpful comments! My 2 Persians have always eaten Nutro Complete Care dry food and this has never been on the tainted food lists, but of course it doesn't mean it wasnt tainted at some point. Its impossible to tell at this point. Nutro has an excellent reputation though. I do know that some Persians are predisposed to PKD, but Kira has not been diagnosed with that, just CRF. As for the food that Kira eats now, I'm at the point that I will try just about anything so she wont starve. She will eat a few Wysong treats at a time, but I never see her eat from the food bowl now, and I have both Hills k/d and plain Nutro available for both my Persians. Ironically, my very healthy black 9 year old Persian eats the Hills Prescription Diet k/d readily and in fact prefers it to the Nutro My vet says that is fine for him. As for Kira with the CRF, she wont touch the stuff. She has always been particular about food and now its working against her. I think I will try to locate Royal Canin Renal LP so she can try that. I have another vet appt next Wed to check her BUN/creat again. I will keep you posted. Any suggestions are welcome. By the way, I met the vet technician today, Dionne, and feel confident she can take care of Kira while I'm away in May, in my condo. She seems very caring and responsible I'm fortunate that I met her.

I lost my cat to CRF on Jan 5 this year, although KD diet is good for CRF cats, the most important thing is that your cat must eat! I had to force feed my cat daily.You should start on the sub q, it is good them, your cat will feel much better,although the thought of sticking a needle to your beloved sucks!

I don't have any suggestions and/or advice but do want to wish you and your lovely Calico, Kira, well. It's very sad when problems like CRF arise. I hope your Kira starts liking her Hill's K/D prescription diet better and that you, along with your vet, find a way to manage the CRF so that your sweet Kira will be around for many more years.

Thank you Katlyn. I hope that is possible. Kira has been having accelerating weight loss this past couple weeks and has been increasingly weak. She obviously is not feeling well. She never purrs now whereas she always purred when she was healthy. I just took Kira to the the vet here in Muskego, WI this morning. Her BUN and creatinine levels are much much higher than a couple weeks ago. Her Phosphorus level is very high and also her Calcium is quite high. She does not eat any food despite my attempts to have her eat something, or anything. I have about 10 bags and cans of different cat foods in an attempt to find something she will eat. She does still lick Laxatone from its tube, but not much, and it isnt very nourishing anyway. Her weight has declined from 5.5 pounds 2 weeks ago to about 4.4 pounds today at the vet. I left Kira with the vet today until tomorrow so she can get IV fluids and more tests including an ultrasound to find the cause of this devastating and frustrating illness. Chronic renal failure is not a disease in itself, and I want to find the cause. My vet did tell me that since her Calcium level is quite high, it indicates the possibility of malignancy. This is very depressing and frustrating , not only since Kira has been such an amazing and affectionate cat, but my last Persian cat prior to Kira died at 2 years of age from a malignancy. Kira is only 6. I do not know what the future will bring, but the tests today will hopefully tell me more and hopefully the IV fluids will help her to feel better. I will let you know. Thanks for all your concern. It IS appreciated.